Review on Enhanced SEO: SMSL M100 USB DAC AK4452 DSD512 Coaxial Optical OTG 32Bit/768kHz Hifi Audio Decoder (Blue) by Jason Unruh

Pros:1 - 768kHz PCM2 - Status display3 - Multiple inputs (USB, coaxial and optical) Cons:1 - Windows driver issues2 - Outdated USB connections3 - USB power design Comments: Despite some significant shortcomings of the SMSL M100 , I don't like to give 4 stars because you simply don't get the best sound in the price range for the price. I wanted to give 5 stars but seriously doubted whether I should downgrade to 3 stars. Continue reading. This is what sets the SMSL M100 apart in terms of design. s Santa Fe Blue (I used to have a car that color) and a long, rectangular, almost cubic shape. Here comes a refreshing change from the usual cheap DAC boxes. While I expected it to be featherweight, it's actually quite hefty for a 4-inch box, which helps keep it in place (almost) rather than being dragged along by the cables you inevitably plug into it have to. You could say which is nice, but some of the issues I've encountered make it less than enjoyable. The Bad: Downloading the Windows drivers from the SMSL site was an adventure. The first problem was that the site was blocked by SAFEDNS (and still is at the time of writing this article), but I dropped the caution and used an old laptop to download a zipped driver pack (it doesn't contain any virus or malware so only the website is the problem). Moving on, the next problem with the driver package loaded was that the installer package would not load (NSIS Error - Failed to run installer). AAAAARCH! Anyway, all drivers are in the zip archive. but. You'll need to read the "setup.ini" file to find out which one to use and where to go. It's a process and something that I usually deduct 2 stars for. Strangely, Windows 10 had trouble loading the generic driver for the M100, so driver issues were not spared. Luckily I'm tech savvy enough to deal with such issues, but I suspect there will be backlash due to these issues. Wouldn't it hurt to put a USB stick in a box with working drivers? SMSL? Would you like to weigh? Anyway, I finally got some working drivers and got a very good sound, if a bit harsh (expected with the new DAC). However, the desire to try some DSD files turned out to be quite annoying. The user manual doesn't mention ASIO drivers (huh?!?) so I spent another 90 minutes tinkering with J River and here it is: Audio Device: SMSL M100 v1.0 [Kernel Streaming] Settings: DSP Studio encoding output signal - Use DoP format. Streaming Formats: User - Bitstream at all DSD sample rates**. Make sure the volume is set to 100% otherwise you will hear noise. Now that I've done all that, the magic begins. The 256DSD brought M100 files to life, and as one of the previous reviewers noted, it far beats its price point. Still a bit harsh but the overall quality far exceeded my expectations. Compared to my Topping D10, I found the presentation of acoustic instruments and solo vocals to be very natural, but a bit dry, but not cold like many digital decoders. Compared to my Sound Magic Serenade, the M100 just isn't in the same class, but it also costs 1/3 less, so here it is. Unit. There are two micro USB ports, one of which is for additional power. While this circuit works for D/A situations, I wish there was a relay to disconnect USB power from the computer (very dirty and always noisy) and I would also expect a new device like this to come with it USB works. -C. In closing, I agree with previous reviewers (3 at the time of writing) that SMSL knocked it out of the park sound-wise. A new bar has been set and I believe the M100 sits at the top of the low end of DACs, even challenging many of those that cost twice as much. However, I'm worried that driver issues might be an obstacle for some buyers, so I'm hoping SMSL will take a closer look at this situation and maybe even provide an ASIO driver (I couldn't get 512 DSD without it).